


Places we won't walk

by himarisu



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, Drunk Texting, Drunken Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 07:18:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16677106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/himarisu/pseuds/himarisu
Summary: Jihoon can't help but be curious about the odd texts he keeps receiving from Daniel.(The five times Daniel texts Jihoon drunk, and the other times he doesn't.)





	Places we won't walk

**Author's Note:**

> As always, biggest of thanks to foxseal, who's always cheering me on no matter how much I whine to her when I'm writing, and for adding on to the original idea I had for this fic ♥
> 
> Thank you 98.degrees for the [Vietnamese translation](https://replei1998.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/trans-places-we-wont-walk)!

  
  
  


**Daniel** :  
jihooniee  
can yoiu oick menup  
at ouur usual placxwe

  


The typos in his texts are all Jihoon needs to know that Daniel is not sober right now.

It's not a common occurrence to see him drunk in the first place. From the many times they went out to drink together, Jihoon had learnt that it takes much more than three bottles of soju—the most he can force himself to take before he's shit-faced—for Daniel to get even slightly tipsy.

So for him to text Jihoon like this, it must be pretty bad.

And it is, as Jihoon soon discovers himself, having rushed to the restaurant they frequented so often several months ago.

Ten bottles of soju are sitting on the table, all empty, and Daniel is mumbling something incoherent into the cup still on his lips, his cheek pressed against one of the bottles threatening to crash to the ground.

Jihoon takes it in for a moment, the sight of Daniel being so _out of it_ that it renders him speechless.

"Hey," Jihoon finally calls out, lowering his hand from his mouth to stop biting at his nails.

The voice that comes out is too soft for even his own ears to hear, but Daniel must have sensed his presence anyway because he cracks an eye open and looks up.

Rubbing it with the back of his hand, he slowly blinks at Jihoon before he murmurs, "Jihoonie, you're here..."

He takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes, counting to three. "Yeah, I'm here. Let's get you home, hm?"

"You're—you're," Daniel hiccups, "you're taking me home?"

"Yes I am, you big idiot," huffs Jihoon, reaching out to sling Daniel's arm over his shoulder.

Jihoon shifts his weight from one foot to the other, trying to use the momentum of the swing to lift Daniel, but it's a futile struggle when the heavy man is physically rooting himself with his legs hooked around the chair. "Isn't that why you called me here?"

Daniel shakes his head, burying it into the crook of Jihoon's neck at the same time. "I texted 'cause I miss you."

It's funny how even when he's not conscious of what he's saying, Daniel still makes it easy for Jihoon's heart to skip multiple beats. "Well, I'm here now. You don't have to miss me anymore."

"Really?" he asks, lifting his head, their faces a fraction of a hair away. "You're here?"

"Yes, I'm—" and then Jihoon can't help but crack a tiny smile at the situation: seeing Daniel get drunk for the first time ever _now_ of all times, all by himself at the place they frequented so often. "I'm here. But if you don't get your ass up soon enough I won't be anymore."

It's simple enough to see that there's an urgency in Daniel's movements now. He—very shakily—gets on his feet, one arm on the table to help him up, but then he almost immediately gives up and falls onto Jihoon's side for support instead. Thankfully, Jihoon is somewhat used to the weight from the spontaneous piggybacks he's given him before and doesn't end up collapsing onto someone else's table.

That doesn't stop him from occasionally swaying side by side as he makes their way outside. It's his first time having to carry someone out of a pub, so he almost bumps into other patrons' tables anyway. Jihoon wonders how Daniel did it.

"'m sorry, Jihoonie," Daniel whispers after standing by the sidewalk for a while, waiting for a cab to come by.

It usually only takes them two minutes to find a ride from here but of course, the roads have to be empty _today_ of all days.

"It's fine," he replies, looking away. "It's not like this happens often anyway."

"No... Jihoon, mmm," mumbles Daniel against his neck, breath hot but still making Jihoon shiver all the same. "I'm sorry."

A cab pulls up in front of them at that exact moment, saving Jihoon from having to say anything else.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Daniel** :  
i  
ate fried chikcen  
with y firends today  
rmeinded me.of you

  


"Jihoon?"

Daniel sounds just as surprised as Jihoon is to see him out here in the middle of the night, sitting against the concrete wall of the convenience store, cans of beer littered near the man with no one else around him.

There's a slight red tinge on his cheeks—and that's when Jihoon connects the dots between his flushed face and the cans. He's drunk again. Or at least tipsy. Jihoon unconsciously stares for longer than necessary, noticing how the colour is a lot different to how he usually likes it against Daniel's complexion when it's a cold day or when he's feeling embarrassed. The red isn't as beautiful and deep as it can get.

Finally snapping out of his thoughts, Jihoon answers, "Yeah, hey." He pauses. "You're drinking again?"

"You make it sound like I'm an alcoholic," Daniel pouts. He raises a can and shakes it. "Care to join me, though?"

Jihoon bites his lip. Maybe he shouldn't even be considering it in the first place, but he can't say no to Daniel. "Only if you won't make me drink."

"I would never."

Although short, the back-and-forth between them feels so effortless that Jihoon finds himself settling next to Daniel before he can think twice about it. The older boy even makes a dramatic show of patting the dust off the spot before Jihoon sits down, which turns out to be a pointless action because it's still the ground he's sitting on anyway.

After a few moments of quiet as they watch people pass by, Jihoon asks, "Are you tipsy?"

"Would you act differently if I was?" Daniel asks with an eyebrow raised. "Just kidding. I am, maybe. I mean you saw my texts earlier, right?"

"I did. You're never the bad spelling type of person, as bad as your grammar is," Jihoon muses, and grins despite himself. "Or is turning autocorrect off a drunk habit of yours?"

Daniel snorts. "I don't _need_ autocorrect. I'm an amazing speller without it," he murmurs against the lip of the beer can. "I just can't think when I drink enough."

Jihoon purses his lips then, shifting his eyes back to the road in front of them. "I wouldn't know that. I'd always get drunk before you even get tipsy."

Letting out a small laugh, Daniel puts his can down and leans back against the wall. "See, that's the best part. You're super cute drunk."

Jihoon snorts, hoping the blush on his cheeks can't be seen in the darkness.

"Still cute sober, even," Daniel mumbles. He pauses, as if in thought. "Always cute."

Jihoon ignores him, much like how he's trying to ignore the intense heat on his face. It's then that he realises that Daniel will always have this effect on him—even in the far, far future—no matter whether he knows if Daniel is being sincere or not. But for some reason, there's a voice in the back of his head that says that Daniel will mean and has meant every word he says, no matter what state of mind he's in.

Jihoon stands up to leave and turns around to look at him. It's the vulnerable expression on Daniel's face that takes him aback, compelling him to ask, "Let's go?"

Silence fills up the space between them as Daniel blinks up at Jihoon. Without another word, he lifts his hand in hesitance towards Jihoon, palm facing the night sky.

Seeing the way Daniel is looking down at the floor, sheepish about asking to hold hands is not something Jihoon is used to seeing. He takes it anyway, feeling the way their hands slip into each other's so easily, but then he feels a tremble in his hand and realises that it's not that Daniel is feeling shy—but rather, afraid.

The tremble doesn't go away, not even for the rest of the walk home.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Daniel** :  
yo ur at the party too right?  
can u take daniel home he's wasted as fuck  
2nd floor 1st door on left

  


Sungwoon and Seongwu are bickering childishly in the corner when Jihoon walks into the mentioned room. There's a big lump under the blanket on the bed, a groan escaping from it, and Jihoon guesses that that thing, or rather, Daniel, is the topic of their current argument.

Seongwu looks up at the now-opened door, surprise evident with the way his eyes widen when he sees Jihoon before he whips his head back around to Sungwoon again. "You—oh my god."

"Jihoon, hey!" says Sungwoon. "Mind taking care of Danny boy here? He got wasted before Seongwu and I could catch up so we're still kinda... yeah. And I know you don't really drink so..."

"Yeah, sure," Jihoon replies without missing a beat.

Thanking him as he leaves the room, Sungwoon slaps his back in good nature, promising to pay him back some other time with lunch or dinner.

Seongwu, on the other hand, lingers at the door, taking a step back to look at Jihoon with a frown. "Sungwoon isn't trying to be mean, by the way."

"I know."

"You sure about this? I don't mind—"

"It's fine. I'm fine." Jihoon shrugs. He doesn't want to hear the rest of it. Doesn't want to feel other people's sympathy. "You don't need to worry about me. Us. You should go—Sungwoon's probably already getting shit-faced as we speak."

Even though he cracks a smile at that, Seongwu still looks like he has more to say. He seems to think against it in the end though, because he releases a deep exhale instead and shuts the door behind him, softly, as if the noise would wake Daniel up.

Jihoon pads over to the bed, heart in his throat, and peers over the blanket only to confirm that it really is Daniel under the covers, snoring quietly. He wants to wake him up so they can go home and sleep in the comfort of their own beds but it's not so easy when he's wearing such a tranquil look on his face.

The thought that eventually comes up in Jihoon's mind when he stares at Daniel long enough is that his cheeks are looking very soft, and very tempting to poke right now. So that's exactly what he does.

"Mmffh," Daniel grumbles against the pillow, brows now furrowed in annoyance.

Smiling to himself, Jihoon continues to dig his finger deeper into his cheek, slowly so that it doesn't hurt _too_ much—but then all of a sudden a bigger hand is wrapped around his, clenched tight, and Jihoon feels his heart stop momentarily.

"Hey, let go," he whines, trying to yank his hand away from the strong grip. "How do you still have any strength left in you when you're drunk?"

Daniel's eyes are wide open now. He's staring right at Jihoon, in disbelief, as if he can't believe he's right there standing in front of him.

"W-who said I was drunk?" he recovers quickly, finally letting go Jihoon's hand and dropping his own back onto the mattress. "Can't prove it."

"Great, so you're not. I can leave you here and go back downstairs then," which actually isn't something Jihoon wants to do at all.

"Wait, no, okay, I'm drunk," Daniel replies quickly. "Yeah. Definitely, definitely drunk."

Daniel's words aren't convincing at all when there's barely any slur in his speech—it even has Jihoon rolling his eyes mockingly—yet he chooses to stay anyway.

Jihoon sits at the edge of the mattress, watching as Daniel's chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm, his eyes closed once again as if unbothered by his presence. It feels nice like this—just the two of them, Daniel and Jihoon, a comfortable silence between them, and a calm mood for Jihoon to fall into.

Or almost fall into.

"Um," Jihoon starts, voice cutting through the silence. "Maybe I should actually go."

"...Stay for a bit longer?"

Daniel is looking up at him, a softness in his eyes that leaves Jihoon incapable of tearing his own away. A warm hand wraps around his own again, more delicately this time around, and Jihoon lets it happen.

"Okay," Jihoon finds himself saying with no resistance. "Only for five minutes."

Daniel giggles under the blanket, turning to his side to face Jihoon. "That's generous of you. You never even gave me that much time when we gamed and I had to take a dump."

"Because you kept whining not to play any games without you," Jihoon says in a chiding tone. "And I had ranks to climb. I didn't have time to wait for you and your weak bowel system."

Daniel lets out a chuckle, flutters his eyes shut. "Yeah. That was fun." He pauses, deep in thought. "What rank are you in now?"

"Diamond."

"Wow, congrats. Finally, huh?"

"Yeah." Jihoon is starting to feel sleepy from the circles Daniel is rubbing gently on the back of his hand. It looks so warm and cosy under the sheets next to him. "You?"

"Don't play much nowadays, to be honest," he mumbles. "It's not really as fun anymore."

Playing games isn't as fun as it used to be for Jihoon anymore either. But he doesn't say that aloud—only reaches a hand out to brush a stray hair away from Daniel's eyes. It stays for a little longer, his finger ending up ghosting over the curve of his eyes, the expanse of his cheek, and down his jawline, before Jihoon retracts his hand back to his lap.

"I see you like this a lot more often these days," he says, voice barely down to a whisper.

Daniel’s eyes flit open again, his gaze shifting to their intertwined fingers. "I guess. I mean when we'd go out to drink I'd usually have to take care of _you_ before I could turn into this mess anyway."

"Now it's my turn to give back, yeah?"

"About time," Daniel snorts. He sinks his head into the pillow. "But I'm never doing this again. I feel like complete shit."

"Then don't," Jihoon says plainly.

"It's tempting when it helps me forget things."

They share a look, but Jihoon is the first to avert his eyes.

"It's okay if you leave now, by the way. I don't think I'll be throwing up any time soon," Daniel says after a while, finally pulling his hand away from Jihoon's.

Jihoon considers it for a short moment but he doesn't want to leave like this—not when it's obvious in the tone of his voice and the look on his face that Daniel doesn't mean it a single bit, that Daniel is lying through his teeth, and that Daniel wants Jihoon to stay—at least for tonight.

So how could Jihoon deny him that single, simple wish? It's the least he could do for him after all this time.

"I promised you five minutes," is the excuse Jihoon makes in the end. "I'm too tired to go home now anyway."

Daniel remains silent but when Jihoon turns to look at him, there's a small smile on his face.

Lifting one corner of the blanket up high, Daniel gestures at the empty spot beside him, bashful. "You can always lay down with me."

Jihoon blinks at him. Trying not to show the surprise on his face, he turns around for a second to keep the blush threatening to rise up on his cheeks in check. "Daniel. Do you even know what you're saying?"

"What, it's not like it'll be the first time we're sleeping together." When Jihoon shoots him a horrified look, Daniel continues, more flustered now, "I'm just saying! You said you were tired, so I'm only offering."

There's a small pout on Daniel's lips, just like there always is whenever Jihoon refuses to go along with his childish antics and Daniel doesn't want to insist further on it. It's not even a secret to the both of them that this same pout had eventually become one of Jihoon's weaknesses; so before Jihoon realises it, he's lying down in the space next to Daniel, a little closer than he should be.

Daniel doesn't say anything at all when he does; only tucks the blanket back over him, his hand lingering a second too long on his shoulder.

It has Jihoon catching his breath in anticipation, but nothing else happens after that.

"Daniel."

"Hm?"

"...It's a little cold."

A pause, and then that's all it takes for Daniel to wrap an arm around Jihoon's waist and pull him in for an embrace.

Jihoon doesn't hesitate for a second to reciprocate, burying his face in Daniel's chest, breathing in the scent of fabric softener on his shirt and hugging him back just as tight, if not tighter. It's selfish of him to be doing this, but he can't bring himself to pull away when all he can think of is how warm Daniel is. How much he feels like home. How much he never wants to let go of him, ever.

So Jihoon lets himself stay in Daniel's arms that night.

He's never had a better night's sleep.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Daniel** :  
hi....  
i'm at a bar by the swedish restaurant

  


Jihoon can't tell if Daniel is actually drunk anymore.

He's beyond the point of caring now, especially when he's enjoying Daniel's company once again like this, giggling over the dumbest of jokes and recounting the stories they've missed as they sit at the long table. It makes him feel like things will be okay between them. That this is how they're meant to be and how they should have been right from the beginning, with none of the complicated feelings that leaves them both equally frustrated. Jihoon thinks Daniel feels the same way too, considering this is the brightest he's seen his smile recently.

There are fleeting touches—on the back of his hand, the inside of his elbow, the nape of his neck—but Jihoon tries not to think much of them and the butterflies in his stomach, chalking them up to be Daniel's tendency to be touchy when he's drinking. He even has to laugh at the unimpressed face Daniel makes when the bartender winks at Jihoon four successive times, all the while grumbling about how _Jihoonie doesn't deserve to be picked up at a third-rate bar like this one_.

"So it would have been fine if we were at a first-rate bar instead?" Jihoon asks, grinning.

"Maybe," Daniel muses, swirling the lowball glass around in his hand. "Maybe not."

"Either way, it's just a one-off thing." Jihoon leans an elbow against the counter, watching Daniel as he takes another gulp of his drink. "It's not like it would happen again anyway."

He raises a brow. "You really think so?" Daniel asks, looking him up and down. "I can't see why anyone wouldn't want you."

There it is, the butterflies in his stomach again—though they've successfully multiplied by tenfold this time. Jihoon looks away quickly. "Well, it doesn't matter because I'm not interested in anyone right now."

It's a lie.

Really, there's only ever been one person Jihoon has been interested in, one who's seen him at his worst and at his best, but he's not about to point that out. Especially not when it's the same person is sitting next to him right now. Even though he wants to say it out loud, so badly.

Daniel turns away too, a pensive look on his face.

"Yeah," he replies, licking his lips. "Me neither."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Daniel** :  
i love you

  


Jihoon doesn't know why he doesn't turn his head away when Daniel leans closer.

It must have been the text Daniel sent out of nowhere, startling him to the point where the only thing that clogged up his mind was those three, heavy words. Must have been how vulnerable and small he looked at the door of Jihoon's apartment, arms shivering in the chilly night as Daniel gave him an apologetic smile. Must have been the way he draped himself over Jihoon right after, curling up into him with a whispered _I'm home, Jihoon,_ into the shell of his ear as they fell onto his sofa.

So Jihoon lets himself savour the feeling of Daniel's lips on his once again—because the feeling is so familiar; so easy.

It doesn't take much for Jihoon to melt under Daniel's touch—even after it's been a long time since they've done this—and he thinks it'll stay that way forever. Daniel kisses him soft, unsure initially. But when Jihoon cups his jaw and presses back against the firmness of his lips, their kisses turning wet and open-mouthed, he takes to whisper Jihoon's name between every kiss with hints of desperation in them, almost like he's pleading for something.

Though unnoticeable at first, Jihoon starts to realise that Daniel has been constantly licking and biting at a distinct area—the small, tiny mole on his bottom lip that Jihoon knows he's always had an obsession with, no matter how many times he's tried to deny it before. Then he realises that Daniel is kissing like always does, even when he's drunk.

And it's at this sudden realisation—that Daniel is drunk, that he's not thinking properly, and that he might regret all of this when he wakes up tomorrow—that Jihoon pushes him away.

"Daniel, you—" he pants, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, the other hand still on his chest. "You're drunk."

Ignoring him, Daniel tries to dip down for another kiss, but Jihoon turns his head away at the last moment. He sees his fist grasp at the covers right next to him.

"...I can't kiss you while I'm drunk?"

Jihoon inhales sharply, feeling short of breath but for a different reason this time. "No. No, you can't." He tries to swallow the lump in his throat. "We can't."

After a few moments of silence, Jihoon flits his eyes back to Daniel, worried at the lack of response, and simultaneously feels his heart being torn apart at the sight.

Daniel looks confused. Hurt. Like he doesn't understand _why_ he's not allowed to kiss Jihoon when he's right _there_ sitting in front of him and they're—

"Daniel. We broke up."

The silence that follows makes it hard for Jihoon to breathe.

But then something seems to click in Daniel's head—because he's retracting quick, like Jihoon is made of lava and he's out to burn him. His eyes clear up in sudden sobriety; and if there's one thing Daniel will remember from all the times he's texted him drunk, Jihoon thinks it'll be this exact moment.

"You shouldn't have led me on."

Jihoon blinks at him. "What?" he says, voice wavering. "Okay, I—I shouldn't have let you done that—what just happened. But Daniel, you—you were the one who kept... who kept texting me."

"Why pick me up when I was drunk then?" Daniel's stare is stony, his lips tight. "You could have just ignored me."

"...Because you asked me to."

"That's not a good enough reason, Jihoon."

Jihoon releases a shaky breath, trying to stay calm. "I did it because I care about you, Daniel."

"You sure you care about me?" He sees the way Daniel winces at his own words, the way his tongue darts out to wet his lips. "Then why—why did I always feel like shit when we were still together? Like I wasn't worth any of your time?"

Swallowing hard, Jihoon lowers his head, if only to not see the pained look on Daniel's face and feel his heart being ripped out of his chest anymore. He's seen that expression many times over when they've argued about the same thing so often before—and he didn't think he would ever have to see it again like this after they had ended things. It's funny how the past continues to come back and haunt him.

Jihoon should have treated Daniel better. He feels terrible about it, especially when Daniel had given so much to him and Jihoon couldn't give even half as much back—but his priorities had been elsewhere back then, and they were the few things in life he couldn't give up no matter what. The guilt slowly comes back, almost eating him up whole, but then Jihoon hears Daniel mutter something under his breath.

"Things would have been so much easier if we never met."

Jihoon flinches. He looks up at Daniel, eyes widening.

"Do you mean that?" He thinks he sees the regret sink in Daniel's eyes, but then his own vision starts to blur. "Did you really mean that?"

"Fuck—" Daniel scrambles to reach a hand out. "No, Jihoon, I'm not thinking straight right now—"

"Yeah, thought so," Jihoon snaps, backing away from Daniel before he can lay so much as a _strand of hair_ on him. He tries to level his breathing, tries to tame the anger boiling inside of him but it's too late now because hot, wet tears begin to roll down his cheeks and the dam inside him has broken. "I mean, that's the only reason why you'd text me anymore, right? Tolerate my presence; ask me to stay, right?" Jihoon closes his eyes shut. "Tell me you still _love me_ , right?"

"I meant that," Daniel whispers, so low that he almost misses it.

But Jihoon doesn't know if he should believe him anymore. And he's tired of this—tired of arguing like they constantly had been right up until their break-up, tired of how weak he gets when Daniel _always_ backs down, but with all that's happened, Jihoon has no intention of stopping now.

"Fuck you," he spits. "We promised we'd be there for each other even when we're not together anymore, but you just threw me under the bus the second we agreed our relationship wasn't going to work out. Was I the only one who was upset for weeks over that? Who cried over that?"

"You weren't."

"You don't know how worried I was to see you drinking so much," Jihoon continues, voice cracking at the end. His knuckles are white from how hard he's clenching them. "Fuck, Daniel, I cared about you _so much_. But for you to just say that you regret this—that you regret _us_ , like it meant _nothing_ to you, I—" He chokes back a sob, and he hates how pathetic he sounds right now. "Maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe I should have just abandoned you at the pub that night the way you abandoned me."

It's quiet once again between them, apart from the heavy, shaky breaths and tiny whines from Jihoon's throat. He doesn't dare raise his head to see the look on Daniel's face in case he hesitates again and gives him another chance.

"We ended things for a reason," Jihoon says, once he catches his breath. "I can't give you what you want, Daniel."

Daniel's hand is on his now, but Jihoon doesn't unfurl it. "Jihoon. Please look at me."

"Please leave." Jihoon bites his lip so hard he can taste blood on his tongue. "Please leave, _now_."

Daniel doesn't say anything else, only pulls back his hand, gets up from Jihoon's sofa and shuts the apartment door behind him with a soft _click_.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Unknown number** :  
hey, jihoon  
are you free this weekend for coffee?  
or something else. since you don't like coffee  
i think we should talk

  


**Unknown number** :  
jihoon?

  


**Unknown number** :  
i'm completely sober right now  
can we meet?

  


**Unknown number** :  
i'm begging you  
please

  


**Unknown number** :  
jihoon please  
i'm sorry

  
  
  
  
  
  


Jihoon scrolls down the texts on his way to class, skimming through them quickly. He presses a button on the top right corner of his screen, but not before a moment's hesitation, and then shoves the phone in his pocket.

  
  
  
  
  
  


_Unknown number has been blocked.  
You will no longer receive messages from this sender._

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/himarisuu)   
>  [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/himarisu)


End file.
